College education
Offline I'm in my 4th semester of college right now just doing general studies. I have to make up my mind with what I want to do by the end of summer and I'm really stressed out. I figured this would be a great place to come for help.
I'm trying to find something I can persue that will help defend reason, help defend causes such as the RRS, IG, center for inquiry, etc, etc. Anything that is needed to be defended can be done with research, but I'm looking for something that will help me for the rest of my life. I've been pondering the idea of philosophy, or maybe social science. I've been thinking about science too, but I'm no science geek. That would be extremely difficult for me. I might just keep that as a hobbie. The same for whatever else I don't take up.
Does anyone want to help me out and list a whole bunch of ideas I should explore? I"m worried about persuing something I can't handle, or something that I would eventually lose interest in.
"Every true faith is infallible -- It performs what the believing person hopes to find in it. But it does not offer the least support for the establishing of an objective truth. Here the ways of men divide. If you want to achieve peace of mind and happiness, have faith. If you want to be a disciple of truth, then search." - Nietzsche
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Hi chosenbypasta,
I think a good place to start is this short clip from professor Noam Chomsky, responsible for single-handedly putting the field of human linguistics (and the notion of 'innateness' over the politically useful view of the 1950s that humans are essentially 'blank slates'
back on the map. Chomsky has been at MIT for over 50 yrs and knows something about education. Chomsky's view, stated briefly, is that the intellectual culture is overwhelmingly on the side of state power and the status quo. It is important< IMO, to realise this and the values associated to formal systems of education before making any decisions regarding your own decisions.
I am self-educated, having chose to leave school at 18 to tour with a rock band. Since then I have held another of professional places (Creative Director for the BBC, for example), largely through hard work and discipline. I don't however, in hindsight, recommend the auto-didact pat: access to research, knowledge-based communities and feedback is rendered much more difficult (though to an extent is ameliorated by the internet).
The only solid advice I can give you regarding your decision is to not listen to anyone as much as you listen to yourself. Only you can know what truly excites, stimulates, or exercises your mind.
On the most generic level here are some areas which I find of study which I find interesting and relevant to the study of rationality:
Anyway, just a few ideas. Ultimately it's up to you. You only realise the strength of the tide when you try to swim against it.
Tim.
May Zeus be with you.
Tim, thanks a lot man. Noam Chomsky is my hero. He has books devoted to talking about institutions and the education system, am I right?
I'm just really worried because I am lacking in a lot of knowledge. I'm worried about running into a brick wall.
"Every true faith is infallible -- It performs what the believing person hopes to find in it. But it does not offer the least support for the establishing of an objective truth. Here the ways of men divide. If you want to achieve peace of mind and happiness, have faith. If you want to be a disciple of truth, then search." - Nietzsche
I'm surprised I never came across that video.
Another thing I wanted to point out is that I've been educating myself for a year now and I'm kind of beat from it. I feel really alienated and isolated all of the time. The idea of dropping out of school and educating myself has always been at the back of my mind, but I feel like I need it to keep myself motivated.
"Every true faith is infallible -- It performs what the believing person hopes to find in it. But it does not offer the least support for the establishing of an objective truth. Here the ways of men divide. If you want to achieve peace of mind and happiness, have faith. If you want to be a disciple of truth, then search." - Nietzsche
Glad you enjoyed the vid man!
Chomsky has had an enormous influence on me, his honesty and integrity simply set him on another level from most of us. Over the years I have corresponded with him - he has always responded within 24 hours, pretty impressive given his workload. Below I have excerpted from an email in which I was asking him question simliar to your own first post. Maybe it will prove useful. (Regarding his opinion of the intellectual class: its sprinkled across many of his works.. one of my fav examples is from the documentary "Manufacturing Consent" in which he is standing outside MIT (where he was working) describing their inducements to doctrinal servitude as a staff member himself... LOL, only chomsky would have the balls to do that). His essay "The responsibility of the intellectual" is probably the best example of his critique of intellectual subordination to power and is as relevent to day (Iraq) as it was then (Vietnam).
Here is the excerpt
Chomsky in Italics)
1) With your experience what is the likelihood of being able to publish critical essays / books outside and unrecognised by (in the form of typical kinds of validation like ‘MSc’ or ‘Phd’ ) the normal intellectual structures? Is it simply a question of perseverance? Do you know of any examples of contemporary thinkers who are taken seriously without any formal accreditation that would be an inspiration?
It's easy, and there is a simple formula, borrowed from the old Communist Party days. There was a notion "critical support." Meaning, lending support for every crime of state or other power center, but distancing oneself by affecting a high moral tone and regretting that one has to compromise one's own magnificent values to support "the lesser evil." It's also useful to be able to claim a dissident past (in the West today, to claim to have participated in some student activity in the 60s). It's an old genre, and it wins great acclaim. It requires no credentials at all, though one who pursues this path is likely to gain academic credentials. There are innumerable examples. Michael Ignatieff is a good example (though it's true that he has an irrelevant Phd and published a rather arcane scholarly book about 30 years ago, unrelated to his later fame and fortune). Yesterday's New York Times (maybe the book review) had an adulatory article on leading intellectuals, mostly of the same type. The most prominent, and respected, was Paul Berman, an incredible fraud and liar, exposed over and over, but it doesn't matter, because of the very valuable contributions he can make in critical support.
Of course, the response depends not on credentials but on subordination to power. Thus Bertrand Russell had magnificent credentials, but was utterly reviled because he was too honest and independent. For examples of those who elicit a different reaction, just take the press, intellectual journals, etc., and see who is revered.
I realize you are rejecting that well-travelled path. But the consequences follow, no matter how rich the credentials. It's possible to proceed, and to be influential among people who matter (which excludes elite sectors, generally). But one should have no illusions about the reactions. As history demonstrates dramatically, intellectuals (writers, academics, etc.) tend to be servants of power, and while there are exceptions, usually at the margins, the core sectors do not treat them with kid gloves, to put it mildly.
I hope that is useful,
Further thoughts to follow,
Tim.
Oh wow, fascinating. I have the manufacturing consent documentary posted in my myspace blog. Such a powerful documentary that must be seen by all.
"Every true faith is infallible -- It performs what the believing person hopes to find in it. But it does not offer the least support for the establishing of an objective truth. Here the ways of men divide. If you want to achieve peace of mind and happiness, have faith. If you want to be a disciple of truth, then search." - Nietzsche